For… users, the potential pitfalls of [blanket] decriminalization are frightening and all too likely to happen. One fear they have about decriminalization is that authorities will drop criminal punishments, only to raise an oppressive regime of civil penalties – specifically, issuing tickets and fines… a fear is that… decriminalize [all] drugs, that’s where the experiment…
There were 8,903 drug simple drug possession arrests in the state in fiscal year 2018, according to the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission—or more than one every hour. The initiative has also been endorsed by more than 50 other organizations, including ACLU Oregon, United Seniors of Oregon, Oregon Latino Health Coalition, Oregon State Council For Retired Citizens, the NAACP…
As calls to divest, defund and abolish local police agencies echo across the U.S., it is also time to elevate those calls to apply to federal paramilitary agencies including the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). As a first step, Congress must open an investigation into the DEA and immediately oppose the use of federal resources to…
More broadly though, [NORML Political Director Justin Strekal] connected this expansion of DEA powers to how the DEA has enforced the drug war far beyond cannabis… [for 14 days starting June 2nd, 2020]. “Drug enforcement agents should not be conducting covert surveillance of protests and First Amendment protected speech,” [said Hugh] Handeyside, a senior attorney…
Portugal’s remarkable recovery, and the fact that it has held steady through several changes in government – including conservative leaders who would have preferred to return to the US-style war on drugs – could not have happened without an enormous cultural shift, and a change in how the country viewed drugs, addiction – and itself.…
Ronald was responsible for providing money and food for the family, and with his absence, the weight of such responsibility is now placed on the shoulders of 69-year-old Lola Kyla who can barely even stand upright. “Nang buhay pa siya, wala talaga kaming problema (When he was still alive, we really didn’t have…
*Lüshunkou Liaoning China Lüshun-Prison More than 115,000 people received criminal sentences last year in China for narcotics-related violations, compared with about 81,000 in 2012, according to the Supreme People’s Court. “I think the communities are safer and our young people are better protected against drugs,” Roque said even as he expressed optimism that the…
“You will regret what you did to me. I will kill your children one by one,” the police officer spat at her. And just as he had vowed, Clarita Alia’s sons began falling one by one … Alia was defiant the day the police came for her son, Richard. He was accused of rape and was…
[Some US State’s have] not moved toward the defelonization of drug possession, as at least 16… have. Instead, [some have] moved in the opposite direction.Criminalizing addiction, especially among women who are mothers, Kraemingk said, creates a situation where the children are more likely to end up in prison themselves. He pointed to national studies showing that…
Released on Monday, October 22nd, 2018, the report from the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), a global coalition of 170 nongovernmental organizations working on drug policy issues, overviewed the failure of the 10-year global strategy from the United Nations, which intended to eradicate the illicit drug market by next year. Instead of curbing the problem,…
